


Recuérdame

by orphan_account



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Coco AU, Hanzo/Jesse is the main ship the rest are background, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Most of the characters are mentioned, So concept art mercy's name is Mateo in this fic, Spoilers for Coco (2017)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-18 09:29:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14850189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jesse just wanted to go home. Now he was in the Land of the Dead, no one remembering him.Or that Coco AU I finally was able to figure out





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> I was finally able to watch Coco and I absolutely loved it. I could relate to it so much as I am latino and I enjoyed it so much so I decided to do an Overwatch AU.
> 
> SPOILERS FOR COCO!
> 
> I recommend watching Coco before reading this because it gives more background and because this is basically the scene from the movie  
> Thank you hope you enjoy!

Jesse wanted to go home. He wanted to see Hanzo and Genji again. He wanted to see his little brother, only four years old yet Jesse was already in love with him. He wants to see Hanzo's stern face turn soft as it looks at him once again. He wanted to return to that. It had only been a few months but he was itching to return to his little family.

But Jack had always swayed him from returning.  
  
Jack Morrison had always looked after him, acting as an uncle to him once his father Gabriel had passed away when he was a little _chamaco_. Jack had supported his music and helped him, acting as a manager. He was the one who pushed Jesse to go out and follow his dreams. But Jesse was tired. He missed them. He missed Hanzo's sweet smiles that were reserved for him, his strength, his insults that held no bite and only love. He missed Genji's big brown eyes, his little smile, his little voice as he sang along with him. He wanted to go back to them.  
  
He had a train ticket ready. He was wearing his charro suit, his guitar case in one hand, suitcase and the other. Jack argued with him, asking him to rethink. After a while, Jesse couldn't handle it, beginning to head to the door when he was stopped. Jack proposed a toast for his safe return and said he would walk him to the train station.  
  
_"I would move heaven and earth for you, kid."_ Jack had said, handing Jesse the glass of tequila. They both drank. Jesse felt the cool liquid slip down his throat, burning the whole way but embraced it. Friends sharing a final drink.  
  
They didn't make it to the train station. Jesse felt a sharp pain, doubling over instantly. His head swam and felt like vomitting. He shook for a second. Vaguely, he could hear Jack say something about the chorizo they ate. Jesse felt tired. He wanted to see his family again. He wanted to hold them. He had to get to them.  
  
He took one more step, belongings falling to the ground as he finally fell over. He felt himself growing tired as the pain consumed him. He had to get to them. He had to. He couldn't leave them.  
  
He woke up dead, a skeleton in the Land of the Dead, all alone with no family. And no ofrenda to go to. All he could think of was Hanzo's long, black hair and love and Genji's sweet smile and pure voice as he sang along.  
  
How he wished he could just go home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse waked up in the Land of the Dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uh had not planned on continuing this tbh but i'm feeling particularly motivated so i'm going to ride on this cloud of inspiration and go for it.
> 
> Jesse has Gabriel's last name because he's Gabe's son.

When Jesse had first woke up, he had been confused. Where was he? He had woken up in a bed of _cempasúchil_ flowers with a skeleton looming over him. The young man had screamed, confused and terrified. What was happening? The skeleton had hair and make-up on, with green and golden swirls decorating its face. She looked down at him amd smiled, eyes staring at him.  
  
He looked down at himself for a second and felt his heart freeze. His hands were bones. He was a skeleton. He was a fucking skeleton. Before he could panic even more, the skeleton spoke to him.  
  
"Jesse Reyes. Twenty-one years old- _ay pobrecito, tan joven_ \- died in _Cuidad de México, México. ¿Está todo correcto?_ " The skeleton asked, her eyes skimming through the paper infront of her. Jesse remained quiet, stunned. She waited expectantly, then gasped, as if in realization.  
  
" _¡Ay!_ I forgot! New arrivals aren't used to this, sorry _chamaco_. It's been forty years since I was in your position, apologies. New day on the job and all, _eh_?" she said, giving him a wink. Jesse just gaped at her. _How do skeletons just blink?_  
  
"Alright. So welcome! This is the Land of the Dead, and, as you can probably tell by the name, you are dead! Now, let me give you the run down of how this works. The Land of the Dead works on memories of those you left alive. As long as they pass down your stories, you are good! You'll remain here! And if they put your photo on an _ofrenda_ , that's even better! You can now cross over during Día de los Muertos to visit your living family! _¿Chévere, no?_ " She said with a bright smile, eyes kind. Jesse's brain tried to process the new information. He was dead. He couldn't remember what happened only that he had felt a sharp pain in his stomach and head and had passed out. Apparently he had died. He remembered Jack mentioning the chorizo, and he internally groaned. What kind of idiot gets food poisoning from a chorizo? A _pendejo_ like him apparently. Then his mind came to halt.  
  
Hanzo. Genji. He can't get to them. They're alive and he's here dead. No, no, no! That can't happen! They're in the middle of the revolution and Hanzo was all alone! He couldn't raise Genji alone.  
  
He couldn't leave Genji. Genji was waiting for him. He had to get back!  
  
" _Señora_ , there must be a mistake. I can't be dead! I have to go back! I need to go back to my baby brother! He's waiting for me!" All Jesse could think about is Genji's chubby, adorable face staring up at him and singing along with the song he wrote for him. He promised he would come back. He promised Genji and Hanzo.  
  
The skeleton woman gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, _chico_. You can't go back. Your best chance is visiting your brother during Día de los Muertos if they put you up on an _ofrenda_. Either that or you'll have to wait for it to be their time." Jesse closed his eyes, breath shakey. He needs to go back. One more time. He wishes he never left Santa Cecilia. He wishes he were hugging Hanzo, Genji between them. He wants to hold them one last time, is that so hard to ask for?  
  
He hopes Jack at least told his family. Jack and Hanzo didn't see eye to eye most of the time but he is sure Jack did tell them. That Jesse had tried going home but Lady Luck just wasn't with him. He breathed. Jesse then remembered the woman in front of him.  
  
"Yes, my name is Jesse McCree. All your information is correct." He didn't want to be dead but he would have to wait for Día de los Muertos to see his family again. He was going to miss Genji's birthday. He had had the gift in his suitcase. A small little _alebrije_ toy, it was a bird. He knew Genji would have loved it.  
  
The woman smiled. "Okay, _chamaco_. Now let me escort you to the reunion area. Do you know if you have any family left here?" Jesse thought of Gabriel for a second but decided not to do that to him. It would kill Gabriel to realize Jesse was also dead. He rather deal with the reperscussion at a different time. He wondered if Gabriel had ever visited them during Día de los Muertos. Then Jesse realized they never had a photo of his father. They hadn't been able to afford a camera, much less be photographed professionally. He only a handful of photos of himself. The family picture the three took together, a picture of him and Hanzo in their homes, dancing together, a picture of himself smiling into the camera, and a picture of him when he was seventeen, before Genji was born and Hanzo was in his life.  
  
He remembered he had the photo of himself on him when he... he died. He reached into the pocket and took out the picture. His eyes were wide and he was beaming at the camera. It had been Hanzo who had taken the photo, a smile breaking his usually stern face as Jesse continued making jokes or singing some songs to him. Especially his song. Oh, he could remember how Hanzo would dance around the room with him as they listened to music. Hanzo loved music and had a lovely voice, accent tilting the spanish words slightly but not too obviously. He loved his _dragón_. Hanzo was strong. He could raise Genji. But he should have to do it by himself.  
  
"No," Jesse said, thinking about those he left behind. "I have no family here."  
  
The woman kindly showed him to the exit of the Reunion building and she gave him a map of the city. He could find work if he wished.  
  
He would make sure he was a prepared man once Día de los Muertos rolled by. And that he would have a house that was more beautiful than the simple one they had in Santa Cecilia. He would make sure of it. He will have it all ready for when Hanzo and Genji arrived. He just hoped, despite his loneliness, they don't die as early as he did.  
  
Jesse plucked a petal of _cempasúchil_ left clinging to his clothes from the bed. He will never give up on going home. He would wait a hundred years if that is what it took to see them once again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo doesn't have time to cry over a man who abandoned his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I want to clarify something:
> 
> -Genji and Hanzo both speak Spanish as they live in Mexico but still speak Japanese
> 
> -All their ages have been fitted to the characters in Coco. Since Genji is Coco, he is her age in this AU. Jack is a bit younger but still older than Ernesto.
> 
> -Genji will speak some Japanese and Spanish, but will speak full sentences in Spanish occassionally. If anyone would like to help me with some Japanese translations, that would be amazing.
> 
> -More characters will be added along the way.
> 
> -This is my first multichaptered fic so there might be some inconsistencies so please tell me if there are any and I will fix it.

Hanzo did not like being taken for as a fool. Hence why he liked not to take any unnecessary risks. Hanzo had fled to Santa Cecilia where he had stayed for a while. His family had moved from their home country of Japan when Hanzo had been seven years old. Hanzo in those fifteen years had been able to adapt to the change and embraced Mexico as his new home. He embraced the language and customs, especially when he was was seventeen and had moved to Santa Cecilia, leaving behind a family that was poisoning him with false principals and corrupt morals. Hanzo had his own moral code and he will not allow it to be swayed by the will of his "family", no matter how much they protested. Hanzo had always been stubborn.  
  
Then Genji was born two years later. He had been notified and the month old infant was left in Hanzo's care at age eighteen. At that point, he didn't have to be alone. He had Jesse.  
  
Jesse had been a surprise. Something Hanzo hadn't thought of. Jesse was sweet and made him smile, breaking his stern face. Hanzo had had no chance once he had grinned at him with the crooked smile and crooned an old song with a fractured guitar outside his window.  
  
So it had become Hanzo, Genji, and Jesse. Jesse, who was so good with Genji, treating him as if he were his own blood. Jesse, who had written songs for his little family. Jesse, who danced with Hanzo liked time ceased to stop. Jesse, who...  
  
Jesse, who had left them.  
  
His mother had always warned him of musicians. She called them dirty and untrustworthy. And maybe she had been right about this one thing.  
  
Hanzo thought he could trust Jesse. He thought he would stay by them, not abandon he and Genji to struggle in a revolutionary-torn country. Hanzo had been waiting for a letter for the past three weeks. Jesse always sent a letter. Always one that started with _pajarito_ and _mi amor._ Always for them. He always sent them what money he could to help them. He hadn't sent anything. Hanzo was distraught. Where was he? Was he alright?  
  
Did he _forget_ about them?  
  
Hanzo had always been one to lock his heart away, not letting anyone in. Now that Jesse had taken his place in it, firmly held as if he were a tree, Hanzo did not know how to react to the fallout. He could already hear the townspeople already making comments. The town hadn't cared much about the two men, but the fact that Hanzo was left alone to support himself with Genji and no work available? That got everyone talking.  
  
The months passed and Genji grew, always asking for Jesse.  
  
_'Where is Jesse, aniki?'_  
  
_'Cuando viene Jesse?'_  
  
_'I miss Jesse, aniki.'_  
  
What could Hanzo say? He didn't know. Neither Jesse nor Jack had sent him anything. He hasn't heard anything from them. In his mind, his mother's words rang.  
  
_'You can never trust a musician, Hanzo.'_  
  
It was when Genji had walked in on Hanzo crying six months since Jesse left that Hanzo had had enough.  
  
He wasn't going to cry over that deadbeat! He was stronger than that. He was Hanzo Shimada and he had to care for his little brother, not cry over some stupid musician. Hanzo angrily took off his wedding ring and threw it out the window. He didn't need Jesse.  
  
If Jesse wanted to walk out on his family, then so be it. He can go tour all he wants and be as unfaithful as he wants. Hanzo wasn't going to shed anymore tears for him. Determined, he stood up.  
  
It was late at night and Genji was asleep. Hanzo picked up all of Jesse's belongings and put them in old potato bags, filling them with all the music that would remind him of Jesse. That man had no place in the house anymore. He lost his right to be with them when he abandoned him. Hanzo hesitated as he reached for his dancing shoes. He always loved the pair, having danced with them in the most important times of his life. He grit his teeth. He was going to forget everything about the man and get rid of everything he could. Hanzo shoved the shoes into the bag and continued collecting the musical items.

He walked to the photos that were on the tables in the living room, picking up a picture of Jesse. The one of when he was young, before he met Hanzo. His finger traced the face of his husband and his heart clenched and his breath waivered. He shut if down. He needed to be strong. He threw the photo in the nearly full bag before adding his wedding photo to the growing pile.

Hanzo reached for the family portrait and stared at it. How could he leave them as if they were nothing?

_'Los quiero tanto, mi amor.'_

Hanzo snorted, humorless. He couldn't believe he had accepted that as truth. He ripped Jesse from the family photo, tossing Jesse's head into the bag. Unbeknownst to Hanzo, the face had fallen to the floor, missing the bag and a small face that had been observing the scene waited in the dark for an opportunity to grab the torn piece. Once Hanzo went outside to throw away the full bag, Genji snuck to where the photo was and then ran back to his room, small legs hurrying fast as possible. On his way, he noticed the bundle of letter Jesse had written them. Without thinking, he grabbed them and ran to his room. Genji looked at Jesse's face and hugged the torn photo. Genji knew Jesse would come back soon. He had to. He promised him. In the meantime, Genji would remember him, singing the song Jesse had written for him, wishing they were singing it together.  
  
Hanzo had deemed that as a first step. He did not have to deal eith the memory of Hesse leaving them constantly, even though it never left. He had to move on to the next problem: he had to find a job to do.  
  
Hanzo sat in his bed, thinking. After a few hours, he caught sight of one of his pairs of boots. The soles had been worn thin and he had been in need of a new pair. But the money had been scarce and he allocated it for Genji instead. Suddenly, he had an idea.  
  
It wasn't as easy as Hanzo had thought, but after a few trial and error, he was able to make a decent pair of shoes. He continued making them and after a few months of perfecting his technique, he was making quality shoes. He started making shoes. As the years passed, Hanzo had made a business of it and their shoes were seen as the best in Santa Cecilia. Hanzo taught Genji to make boots, who then taught his fiancé, Mateo. Soon enough, as the family grew, the business extended to the family. And the music ban still remained. His family had survived.  
  
Music had torn Hanzo's family apart, but it was shoes that brought it back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come give me ideas and stuff on tumblr-  
> wadingspool
> 
> Just dm its easier and wont get lost that way!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse has a rough first decade and it just goes downhill. Hanzo is still heartbroken and not ready to forgive so easily.

Jesse waited. He had gone to the _cempasúchil_ bridge checkpoints, year after year, trying to cross but nothing happened. He never had a photo up on an ofrenda. He had ended up almost immediately in the Shantytown, among those forgotten. He never thought his family would forget him. He can't say he doesn't blame them.  
  
Jesse should have never left with Jack. Then perhaps he would have still been alive, growing old with Hanzo and watching Genji grow up. He had lost hope by the tenth year but still attempted to cross the flower bridges.  
  
He had been in the land of the dead a little over three years when he heard it. The words to Genji's song but sung... wrong. It wasn't gentle, it wasn't the song both he and Genji knew. He recognized those words though and could imagine the real way of singing it in his head. He had stopped and ran after the singing. It had been a woman, pristine white bones shinning in the city lights.  
  
_< ¡Permiso, señora!>_ Jesse called after her, waving his arm. She turned around, confusion in her eyes.  
  
_< ¿Con qué te puedo ayudar, señor?>_ she had replied, nervously tucking a loose hair that had escaped her bun. Jesse was used to it. He had crossed over in his charro suit but had since lost it, selling it for some commodities in his hut.  
  
"The song you were singing. What song is that?" Jesse held his breath. He couldn't have. He knew that that song was off limits. Surely he wouldn't have done that?  
  
_"¡Ay, sí!_ You must not have heard it before, _verdad_?" He nodded, having the ghost sensation of his stomach plummeting.  
  
"It's called _Recuérdame_! _Los Lobos de Toluca_ were the ones who sang it, but the true creator was the legendary Jack Morrison! He has written many songs and _Recuérdame_ is his biggest hit! I had just gotten the disco when I had died- hey, are you alright, _señor_?" Jesse ignored her, hands shaking as he quickly walked away, frantic to get away. He couldn't believe him. Jack just took his songs? How could he? He knew that was Genji's song, no one else's!  
  
Maybe the woman was wrong, Jesse. Maybe she only thought he had written it. Maybe he had published them in his memory. Jack was a great friend, he wouldn't do it maliciously.  
  
Even with the attempts to calm himself, Jesse felt his heartbreak. The woman had said the song was popular, what must Genji think? Genji, who he hadn't seen since he was four. _Díos mío_ , he must have turned eight only a few months ago. He was missing out on his boy growing up.

* * *

  
  
By the fifteenth year, Jesse had given up getting a photo on the ofrenda but still relentlessly attempted to get through. Ceci, a newly deceased seamstress he had met when he was working giving tours on the trams, had supplied him with multiple costumes and even the old skeleton that everyone called Chicharrón who he shared a shack with helped him. Chich was one of the skeletons in the Shantytown, forgotten like Jesse.  
  
But that's just it, isn't it? Jesse wasn't being forgotten. He was still in the Land of the Dead, despite the slight discoloration of his bones or the minute growing fragility of them. Someone was still remembering him. He liked to think it was Genji and Hanzo. They were keeping up with his memory. He can only hope.  
  
Sometimes, he liked to imagine how they looked after all these years. He imagined Hanzo stayed similar to how he looked. Would he have gotten some white hairs? He touched his own brown hair. He never thought he would ever wish to have a white hair.  
  
Genji was harder to imagine. He would have been around twenty by now, fifteen years later. Did he look like his brother? Was he the same old sweet, loving child he remembers? Does Genji remember him?  
  
Did they hear the songs that were meant for family only? How did Genji react, hearing _Recuérdame_ being popularized and changed so drastically?  
  
He liked to imagine they were happy. That they were in a better place financially and were doing alright. That they were going forward with their lives. He has already missed majority of it and he hopes they both live long lives.  
  
He laid on the floor of the destroyed shack he and Chich shared, the other skeleton snoring on his hamaca. Did Hanzo ever marry again? Hanzo was a good-looking man. Surely, he must have had suitors. He remembered he did have suitors back in the day, both women and men. And Genji. Did he have a significant other? Did he fall in love?  
  
The thought of his baby brother being happy was enough to warm his dead heart. All he wanted was for them to be happy. He closed his eyes, sighing.  
  
Just see them one more time.

* * *

  
  
It was six years later when Jack Morrison arrived in the Land of the Dead. Though the man was American, he had practiced the same customs as everyone else. Jesse had heard of it in the plaza and had ran around, bones clicking from his latest attempt of crossing the stupid flower bridge, until he found him.  
  
"Jack! Jack, hey!" Jesse had called, waving madly, trying to get his attention. When that ceased to work he looked around and found a fire escape in one of the buildings. He scaled it as quickly as possible then ran, aiming to cut him off. He peered over the rooftops, scanning before spotting the pristine white charro suit Jack wore. He adjusted the torn red poncho he wore and the scruffy cowboy hat he had gotten and jumped. He braced himself for the jarring sensation of falling apart and hit the floor, breaking apart.  
  
Jesse quickly reassembled himself, then ran after Jack.  
  
"Jack! Over here!" Jack turned (finally!), staring at Jesse in confusion. His skull was simple with some red marks with blue swirls at his chin. Guards around him instantly reacted, prepared to get rid of him. Jack raised a hand, signaling them to stop.  
  
"May I help you?" He asked, eyes scanning his run down appearance with barely veiled disgust. Jesse rolled his eyes. Always picky, he was.  
  
"It's me! Jesse!" he said, gesturing to himself, then cracked a grin _. "¿Muy guapo, sí?"_  
  
Jack just stared at him blankly. Jesse felt himself grow a little more hesitant. Did Jack forget him so quickly? One would think he would remember someone who died of chorizo right next to him.  
  
"Ah yes... Jesse... how have you been?" Jack said stiffly, not looking at him. Jesse ignored his icy demeanor, looking for some answers.  
  
"I've been... I've had better days. But I need to ask you," Jesse said, desperation leaking into his voice. "Did you tell my family what happened? They know I didn't just leave right? Please tell me you told them, amigo!"  
  
Jesse grasped at the jacket, gripping desperation evident in his tone. Jack removed his grasp from his jacket.  
  
"Guards! Take him away from me!" As the bodyguards grabbed at him, Jesse reached for Jack.  
  
"No Jack please! Please tell me you told them! Please tell me you did not do nothing! _¡Jack, por favor!_ " Jesse screamed, hysterical, trying to break free. Jack ignored him, walking down the alley as the guards dragged Jesse away, throwing him in a pile of trash, his discolored bones aching with pain from their harsh grips and unforgiving hands.  
  
He remained there for a while, shaking as he tried to regulate his breath. Hanzo didn't know. Genji didn't know. Hanzo must have thought he walked out and never came back. That he left them all alone. What must Hanzo think of him? What must Genji think of him? His sweet little brother? What must he think of Jesse, who left them in their time in need?  
  
He longed for tears to fall for his thoroughly lost family, even though he has not cried in more than twenty one years.  
  
He regrets ever leaving. He should have been content with his family. He regrets not hugging Genji one last time. Kissing Hanzo one more time. Waving one last time at the two of them before he walked out of the house and out of their lives for the rest of their lives.  
  
He only wishes Hanzo would forgive him.

* * *

It was one day in 1973 when Jesse had jeard another familiar voice. It had been fifty-two years since he had heard that voice. 

A smooth voice that would lovingly call him and idiot or whisper loving sweet-nothings to him. A voice that used to echo the phrase 'Te quiero'. For the second time in his five decades of being dead, he ran towards a person from his past life. His bones were a pale yellow, slowly growing more discolored as the years passed by. Slowly growing more frail. 

He caught sight of a familiar figure in front of what looked like a store. Even skeletal, he would always be able to find Hanzo.

His husband was sweeping the entrance of the shop diligently. He wasn't sure how long Hanzo had been in the Land of the Dead, but he seemed to have himself established. His bones were a pristine white. He wore a simple nice white shirt and slacks with impressive shoes. Jesse stayed there, looking at the love of his life for th first time in half a century. He must have been in his late 70s but still looked amazing. There was drastically more white in his hair, the sides silver showing how much his childhood sweetheart had matured and aged.

Hanzo looked up all of a sudden and their eyes met. Hanzo squinted at him, as if trying to figure him out. Jesse took off his worn hat, holding it to his chest in respect. It reminded him of when he had first met Hanzo in the plaza of Santa Cecilia when they were young, before Genji was born. 

**_Jesse had been playing with the mariachi group and decided to take a break. He was breathing heavy from the extertion but smiling widely, adrenalin coursing through his veins. Playing music always made him feel alive. He was distracted by the people dancing that he accidentally crashed into a smaller figure trying to walk by to the other. Jesse turned right when the smaller man had turned and began cursing him out. He stood there, stupified._ **

**_Everyone knew of Hanzo Shimada. The Japanese man that spoke fluent Spanish and had a fiery attitude with a stubborn streak a mile long. The man glared doen Jesse as he just dumbly stared at him. He was more beautiful than Jesse had ever seen. His guitar case hung limply at his side._ **

**_< ¿Aha? ¿Qué te pasa?> Hanzo had demanded, getting closer eyes annoyed. Jesse snapped out of it and gave him a wide smile. Hanzo looked surprised for a second but then returned to the look of annoyance. _ **

**_"Disculpa, señor. I just couldn't look away. You are so very beautiful. You remind me of the most sweetest songs." Jesse had replied, holding his arm awkwardly with the other. Hanzo looked taken back, surprised. Jesse committed the image to his mind._ **

He saw Hanzo's eyes widen, shock evident in his face as well as a softness in his eyes. Those eyes then tuened to fury.

"Hanzo, I-" Hanzo cut him off, glaring at him and approaching him with the broom. 

"Get away from me Jesse McCree. You do not deserve to be near me! You left your family and you think you can waltz in like that? No. Get away from me. Stay away from me and from the rest of the family. You left us when we needed you and for what? Music?" Hanzo criticized, anger evident in his face and voice. Jesse understood, but he still felt his heart clench and break. 

"I'm sor-" Hanzo cut him off again.

"No. Don't you dare apologize. I am not forgiving you for this... I hope it was worth it." Hanzo glared at him, storming back into the store, slamming the door down.

Jesse felt his heart shatter once the door slammed down. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji's memory begins to fade. Jesse's condition grows worse. Hanzo is joined by more family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed with the ages so horribly in the au its fuckin crazy y'all like this is a mess i'm developing it further as i go. Have fun with the craziness in this au.

Hanzo remembered when Genji had begun forgetting things. It had started about a year before his death, give or take a few months. Genji had the tendency to forgotten minor things, simple things such as forgetting where he left the keys to the house or the remote for the television. Or where he had left Mateo's shirts or Ana's toys. Where the leather for the boots he was suppose to be making went. Simple things like that. Hanzo had remembered Mateo smiling softly at him, grabbing his arms and kissing him on the cheek, comforting when Genji grew the slightest bit distressed at his slipping memory.  
  
Hanzo had died one morning in the June of 1972. He had woken up from a dream. It had been of the damned musician (he referred to him as such; he hasn't spoken that name in a little over half a century). He had walked into the workshop, always the first one to rise and prepare for a day of work. He had felt a pain as if someone had clenched a fist in his chest and  started breathing heavily. He remembers having a slight sense of panic before he fell to the floor.   
  
He had woken up in the Land of the Dead, at peace that his life had been fruitful, despite the hardship in the first twenty five years of his life from that man leaving. He was prepared, ready for the rest of his afterlife.  
  
The year after while he was preparing for his first Día de los Muertos, Jesse had shown up. Hanzo hadn't even recognized him. He had felt his heartbreak as he recognized the man who had walked out on him and Genji but was filled with rage after. It took all of his willpower to not hit the foolish man with the broomstick. He didn't need Jesse McCree. He had lived majority of his life without Jesse and that would not change in the afterlife, despite what his traitorous heart yearned for.   
  
It was a surprised when Mateo had arrived to the Land of the Dead, only seven years after he did. His heart ached as he thought of his younger brother when Mateo had mentioned that since Hanzo's death, Genji's memory had began to decay slowly. Hanzo and Mateo both felt the main that Mateo's death may affect his memory even more.  
  
It was the two of them, making shoes for the people until a few months after Mateo's death that Ana followed her father, at the age of forty, leaving behind their family. Hanzo's heart ached for his family as he saw Mateo and Ana embrace. He felt at least the safest regards that Wilhelm would help the family with Genji, who he treated with the utmost respect. They had brought in Wilhelm from the streets once his mother had died, Genji and Mateo adopting him into the family like they did with Ana a few years prior.  
  
As the years went by, Hanzo noted the decline in his younger brother's memory, the dementia decaying Genji's memory. His heart ached for his brother as he forgets Wilhelm's name as the man just smiles sadly and kisses his adopted father on the cheek.  
  
He felt pride in the way Wilhelm manages the household as far as Hanzo could see when he visits during Día de los Muertos. Even though the man was not raised since he was small in the household, he still adhered to the ban on music and managed the shop well.  
  
He was proud of his family but was terrified for Genji and how he must feel as his memory decays slowly but surely.

* * *

  
It was in the end of January of 2009 when Jesse began feeling the encroaching presence of the Final Death. He knew his time was running out. Many had expected him to have passed by now and he saw many of his primos, primas, tíos, and tías pass on, fading into golden dust as their loved ones that remained in the living world forgot them or died.   
  
Jesse's bones were brittle and had turned yellow. He barely healed at all, bones becoming easy to disconnect. He knew it mean that Genji was forgetting him. His sweet baby brother, he could barely imagine him- old and probably having lived a full life. But still remembering him, despite him missing out on his whole life.   
  
His fibula now popped out with every step, giving him an obvious limp. He had tape patching his bones up, breaks old and not healing. His ulna was cracked, the tape holding the arm together just enough to be able to do the things he did. He had the same outfit he'd worn for majority of his stay in the Land of the Dead. He had stopped trying to fix his mop of brown hair. He spent most of his years helping his friends, making life better for those in the Shantytowns.  
  
Jesse gave up music. After seeing Hanzo all those years ago for the first time since he had died, he had lost his motivation for the music. He loved it, ( _Díos mío_ , did he _love_ music) but the pain he felt as he thought of how music had ripped him from his family. He refrained from music, listening to it and indulging in it but it left a sour taste in his mouth and a cold feeling to seep into his broken bones.   
  
The more Genji forgot about him, the more desperate Jesse became. He begged his friends for helped, who would willingly give him  what he asked. The most memorable he could think of was Chicharrón giving his femur to help Jesse through the bridge. He had felt guilt when he lost the bone and had scourged the backstreets of the city before finding a pipe to allow him to be able to walk.  
  
Genji was forgetting him and he needed get to him. In the following six years, he felt weaker and weaker, bones getting weaker and disconnecting easier. Chich was far worse. They both knew he would be fading soon.   
  
Jesse wasn't far behind however.   
  
Genji was losing memory quickly. It was 2017 when he came to terms that it would be his last chance to see Genji before Jesse faded to the final death. The two roommates were in a horrid state, Chich feeling too drained to even move.   
  
_One last chance_ , he thought as he slipped on the latest costume Ceci had lent him with a sigh and a hand resting on his shoulder.

One last chance to see his Genji.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I was originally going to write this in Sombra's point of view but I found that difficult and found it easier to write in Jesse's like I have been doing before. Majority of the movie was in Miguel (who is Sombra in this au) so I decided it gave me more liberty to write it in what would have been Héctor's perspective.
> 
> Due to this, I posted it very late and it's short. I hope you still enjoy!

It was his last chance. He already knew it. He also knew it was the last for Chich. Jesse had hid the tremors of golden light that would wrack his frame from his progressively worse roommate with ease, the intervals between the attacks days or weeks between. However, while Chich's was a long time coming, Jesse's condition had exponentially gotten worse. Jesse's bones were as brittle as they've ever been. He felt hesitation in breaking them apart like he had before. They were much loser, his limp growing incredibly obvious, changing the way he walked drastically.  
  
It was in the Día de los Muertos of 2017 that he truly felt it would be his last chance to see Genji. Genji, who's failing memory was forgetting him as the days passed. He had to see him. He couldn't live without seeing him one more time before succumbing to the Final Death. Genji was already 99 years old, almost a hundred. He had lived so long, and Jesse had lived with him, from memories of a four year old child who never forgot him.  
  
He could remember the small little hands grabbing at his face, gently patting it. Small fingers curling around his fingers and smiling at him. A baby, cacooned in a soft yellow blanket, tufts of black showing as he smiled with no teeth. He remembered how Genji would call him Tito, laughing as Jesse tossed him in the air, always catching him.  
  
Jesse had to see him. He begged God would allow him this one wish.  
  
He had grown desperate. He knew Ceci knew he was fading, and fading fast. Frida could tell as well. Perhaps that was why they had allowed him to take one of their costumes. Frida even helped him with the make-up, trying her best to make him pass off as best they can. However, all three of them knew it would not fool those scanners. Facial structure never lies when you're in the Land of the Dead.  
  
No _foto_. No _ofrenda_.  
  
Regardless, Jesse adjusted the wig and the dress and took character. He would do anything for Genji.  
  
As he walked to the scanner, Jesse already knew it would go terribly. However, he kept the façade, trying to pass. When he was denied, he decided he had nothing to lose.  
  
He made a break for it.   
  
As always, the terrible golden flowers gave out under his unworthy weight, allowing him to sink in. As the guards dragged him away, he cursed the stupid bridge. He had to find another way. He had to. As he was questioned and read his 'crimes', Jesse tried swindling the man.  
  
'Morrison? He and I go way back!' he had attempted. As if Morrison would do him that favor, even if the police officer believed him.  
  
He left empty handed until he heard a young voice behind him.  
  
"Do you actually know Morrison?" the voice asked him. Jesse turned, annoyed. _¿Que chingados les cuestan pa' que no te jodan la vida?_ He began speaking before choking on his words.  
  
"You're alive! What the _fu_ -" he was abruptly shoved into a closet, before the living girl looked at him shushing him. He felt shock in his body. How did that even happen?  
  
The little girl, and _god_ she couldn't have been older than eleven ( _what was a **living** child doing in the **Land of the Dead**?_ ), claimed Morrison was her great-great grandfather and wasn't that just a surprise? He never though old Jack would ever have a great-great grandchild. He thought back to Genji. He wondered if he had descendents that far. He hoped Genji lived a nice full life. Not just thinking about him.   
  
The living girl had to go back and needed Morrison's blessing. She needed his help. In his head a light went off. He focused on it, trying to formulate it when the idea burst into fruition. Of course! She can take his photo back! Put it on an ofrenda! He could cross over and see Genji one last time before he faded! He had taken too long and the girl was about to leave but he stopped her, agreeing estatically. He could see his little brother!

"I'll help you! You can help me! Most importantly, you can help me!" He said, a bit too enthusiastic. He then offered her his hand. "My name is Jesse!"  
  
"That's nice!" Then the girl was running, pulling his forearm out as she ran. He cursed under his breath. He made a signal with his severed arm, as he ran after the girl, leg clacking with each step as his bare feet hit the floor.  
  
_< ¡Espérame, chamaca!>_

Together, they ran into the crowd, away from the station, escaping into the multitude of skeletons.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me on tumblr @wadingspool


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia meets her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for taking a while to update! Summer has been hectic but I hope to update soon! I gope you enjoy this!
> 
> I put them as the Reyes family because I'm acting on Jesse having taken Gabriel's name. Hanzo kept the name and so yeah.

Olivia hadn't thought this would ever happen in such a manner. She had been looking to play in mariachi plaza, finally show her family that being a musician was worth it; that she can prove that music isn't this terrible thing that should be banned from their family. She just needed the guitar. She knew her great-great-uncle would understand. He would have supported this choice. So she had grabbed the guitar, not knowing it would make her practically dead until that security guard walked through her. In a panic she had run away, crashing into skeletons and even falling in an open grave. Olivia had never been more afraid in her life.  
  
She didn't know exactly what to feel at the sight of her deceased family as skeletons in the afterlife. She was conflicted. She had thought it was all fictitious, telling her family that. There was Tía Ana, Papá Mateo, Tía Angela, Tía Orisa, and Tío Zenyatta. He recognized them from their portraits on the ofrenda. She felt bad for crashing into Papá Mateo when they met but she felt the slightest bit comforted, as well as disturbed, being surrounded by her family. Deceased or not. Her dog, Dante, followed along with her, easing her worries as well.   
  
The _cempasúchil_ bridge was the most magnificent sight she had ever seen. It felt like she was walking on something solid but at the same time as if she were floating. Olivia picked up some of the _cempasúchil_ petals, marveling at the soft golden glow emanating from them. It was so beautiful, Olivia couldn't think of anythign more beautiful until she saw the city skyline.  
  
Towering buildings on platforms looking like the games her Tía Hana used to play when she was younger. The soft lights blinked different colors of blue, purple, white, and yellows. It was the most beautiful thing a young girl who never left Santa Cecilia had seen in her short life.   
  
Her family were taking her to Papá Hanzo, who couldn't cross during Día de Muertos. She felt guilty, feeling the weight of the photo in her back pocket and gripped her left arm with her right hand, nervous with how that will go down. She remembered how Papá Genji and Abuelito spoke of him, describing him as strong and a force to be reckoned with but able to be loving when needed be.   
  
As they reached the checkpoints, Olivia observed the skeletons walking to or from the chedckpoints, hiding away from the prying shocked eyes of the skeletons passing them. She didn't like being gawked at in such a way.  
  
As they waited in line, her eyes drifted to the line next to theirs. As the people passed by, she took notice of the process. It was interesting seeing the _ofrenda_ photos pop up on the screen of the monitor as the skulls were scanned. She looked forward to the next person in line and then gasped when she saw who it was.  
  
That was Frida Khalo!  
  
Olivia always had loved her art, something that was different. Her mamá and papá never allowed her to see some of her art though. Something about 'not being suitable for child, mija.' She remembered the movie and liked it a lot.   
  
She watched with baited breath as the painter spoke, a smile on her face. The harsh beeping of the machine jolted her from her awe. There was an X on the moniter to her confusion.  
  
Then in her shock the skeleton shed her costume and faux braid and took the appearance on a male skeleton with a tattered cowboy hat and red serape, who gave a grin, saying something she couldn't hear and made a mad dash to the bridge. Olivia followed the man and observed as he seemed to sink into the bridge and was later dragged away, cursing the cempasúchil bridge as he was taken away.  
  
"I don't know what I would do if no one put my picture on the ofrenda!" Tía Angela said, voice soaked in pity. She could help but agree. She felt sorry for the skeleton.  
  
Olivia and her family continued to the Grand Station, as Papá Mateo called it. Once they opened she was thrownback by how different and how many skeletons were there. There were what seemed to be elderly skeletons, with their grey hair, and even children skeletons that appeared younger than her. It made her feel sadness. Esas pobre criaturas. What happened to them? She was slowly escorted away from the entrance and was pulled toward loud yelling.  
  
"My family always puts my foto on la ofrenda! You and your stupid... devil box are completely wrong!" Olivia heard a strong voice with the faintest hint of an accent exclaim in anger. She saw as Papá Mateo approached, a bit hesitant it seemed. The skeleton was dressed in a simple yet nice blue button down, black hair pinned up in a neat bun. The man reached down quickly, pulling put a boot and smashing the old computer as a female skeleton cowered behind her desk.  
  
Olivia was too immersed in seeing the way the skeleton beat the computer to notice Papá Mateo had slowly inched closer, grabbing the attention of the skeleton. The skeleton swung around, brandishing the boot in hand with a face of fury, cauaing Papá Mateo to step back with a slight flinch of fear. Even Olivia tensed. Her mamá was surely a woman to be reckoned with and so has their whole family.  
  
The skeleton recognized the family and instantly relaxed, sighing in relief and explaining indignantly how the woman didn't let him cross. Olivia decided to ignore the conversation and her eyes wandered around the Grand Station, taking in all the colors of the large space until a voice grabbed her attention.  
  
"Olivia?" she turned and saw the skeleton staring at her in shock. She took in the skeleton and then remembered the picture on the ofrenda. The dark eyes, the high cheek bones, black hair. It was her Papá Hanzo. Then she remembered the photo she had in her hoodie pocket and felt embarrasment and a slight bit of anxiousness.   
  
"Papá Hanzo..." she said weakly, giving a small, nervous wave. Papá Hanzo narrowed his eyes, observing her and the rest of the family.  
  
"What is going on?" Before he could finish, they were interrupted by a skeleton leaving an office.  
  
"Are you the..." the short skeleton paused, squinting at the page. "the Reyes family?"  
  
Papá Hanzo stood up and nodded just as the old macintosh gave a small boom. The man gestured and the family filed in. He sat at his desk and then pulled out some papers, reviewing them before bluntly proclaiming that they were cursed.   
  
"What do you mean ' _cursed_ '?" Olivia exclaimed, wide eyed. The man explained that she had stolen something fromnthe dead on the day for giving the dead.  
  
"I didn't steal the guitar!" She argued, ignoring Papá Hanzo's disbelief, then continued. "It was my great-great uncle's! He would have wanted me to-"  
  
"Ah-ah-ah! We do not speak of   
that..." Papá Hanzo paused, looking disgusted before sneering: "...musician! He is _dead_ to this family!"  
  
"Uh, you're all dead." Olivia said, rolling her eyes.  
  
Dante approached the desk, balancing his paws at the edge of the clerk's desk and attempted to reach a plate of food. The clerk sneezes, surprising Olivia.  
  
"I am sorry, whose _alebrije_ is that?" the clerk said, looking down at the dog in annoyance.  
  
"That's just Dante," Olivia steps up, trying to pull Dante away from the treats.   
  
"He sure doesn't look like an _alebrije_." Tía Angela says, gesturing to the fantastical creatures fluttering on the other side of the window.  
  
Whatever he is, I am-" the clerk sneezes, "terribly allergic." Olivia looks at him in confusion.   
  
"But Dante doesn't have any hair."  
  
"And I don't have a nose, and yet here we are." the clerk said, ending with another sneeze. Olivia figured whatever thing skeletons had when they were alive just stuck.  
  
Then Papá Hanzo cut in. "This still doesn't explain why I couldn't cross over!" he said, irritated with the situation.   
  
"...oh," Olivia grimaces, catching everyone's attention as she slowly slide the photo out of her hoodie. Papá Hanzo's eyes grew large in disbelief.  
  
"You took my photo off the _ofrenda_?!" he yelled, shocked. Olivia protested.  
  
"It was an accident! I swear!" she said, feeling bad. She hadn't meant for it to happen. Papá Hanzo turned to the clerk.  
  
"How do we send her back?" he demanded, fire in his eyes. 

The clerk flipped through some pages, before addressing the family once again. "Well, since it's a family matter, the way to undo a family curse is to get your family's blessing."   
  
Olivia blinked in surprise. "That's it?" she questioned, slightly surprised. She expected it to be more drastic. Maybe she's been watching too many movies.   
  
"Get your family's blessing, and everything should go back to normal. But you gotta do it by sunrise!" The clerk warned. Olivia furrowed her brow, confused.   
  
"What happens at sunrise?" she asked before Papá Mateo caught their attention with a yelp.  
  
" _¡Híjole!_ Your hand!" Cold dread settled in Olivia's stomach as she slowly brought her hand to look. The tip of one of her fingers had   
started to turn skeletal. She felt the blood drain from her face and feel a bit light-headed from the panic and fear before being gently slapped by Papá Mateo.  
  
"Ey, Livi. Can't have you fainting on us." He said, helping her stand up. She felt panic course through her. Would she turn into full skeleton? Wouldn't she officially die then? What would happen to her body? Questions coursed through her head and each one had no definitive answer. Something she hated.  
  
"Don't worry though! Your family is here so you can get a blessing easily! Let me just..." the clerk trailed off, getting up from behind the desk and searching for something on the floor. He mumbled something before giving a noise of approval.  
  
"Aha! _Perdón, señora._ " The clerk said to Tía Angela. She gives a small laugh before allowing the clerk to pluck a cempasúchil petal from the hem of her dress. The man walked up to Papá Hanzo and handed him the petal.  
  
"Alright, look at the living and say her name." He said. Papá Hanzo took the petal and looked at Olivia with an unimpressed look.  
  
"Olivia," he said flatly. Olivia can't say she blamed him. She did ruin his night.  
  
"Nailed it! Now say: 'I give you my blessing...'" the clerk said, observing them.  
  
"I give you my blessing," the petal started glowing with his words. Olivia's eyes widen. Olivia was about to reach for the petal when Papá Hanzo continued speaking, taking a step to emphasize his words. The _cempasúchil_ petal's glow surges with each requisite.   
  
"I give you my blessing to go home..." he said, as if scolding Olivia. "to put my photo on the ofrenda... and to never play music again!" He ends, voice strong and filled with finality. Olivia recoiles shocked. She turns to the clerk.  
  
"What?! He can't do that!" The clerk shrugs, looking a bit apologetic.   
  
"Tecnically, he can add any conditions he wants." Papá Hanzo looked at him with a smug expression. Olivia stares him down but Papá Hanzo seemed firm in his resolve.   
  
Olivia agrees to it, grumbling and grabbing the petal. She didn't think it through trying to grab the guitar once she returned to the mausoleum  until it was too late and she crashed directly into the clerks desk. She froze then slowly turned around, a nervous and weak smile on her face.  
  
Papá Hanzo and her argues for a while. She didn't understand why in death he had to try to control this part of her. She wanted to be a musician! She wanted to be like her Papá Jack and be a musician!  
  
She tried asking for the rest of her family members but none wanted to go against Papá Hanzo. What he said went.  
  
"Don't make this hard, _mija._ You go home my way, or no way." Papá Hanzo said. She knew he was not going to back down.  
  
"You really hate music that much?" she asked, still in disbelief that Papá Hanzo would not allow her this one thing.   
  
"I will not let you go down the same path he did." his voice was firm. Olivia figured as much. She stayed silent then an idea formed. She pulls the photo out and turns from her family.   
  
_The same path he did._  
  
She gazed at the man with no face. He was still family.  
  
"Listen to your Papá Hanzo." Tía Ana said gently.  
  
"She's just looking out for you." Tío Zenyatta said, looking sympathetic.   
  
"Be reasonable." Tía Angela advised.  
  
Olivia barely registered, her plan forming. If they couldn't help her.  
  
She will find his other family to help her.  She made an empty excuse and her and Dante ran. She had to find the one family that would understand her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse and Olivia meet and Hanzo is determined to find Olivia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait once again. I just don't have as much time as I would like. It's shorter than I would like but I didn't want everyone to keep waiting. Hope you enjoy!

Saying Jesse was pissed off would be an incorrect statement.  
  
Yes there was anger and annoyance, but the most encompassing feeling was the sadness that he carried in his chest cavity. Even his bribery of the policeman that was listing his crimes ( _why was falsifying a unibrow even considered illegal?_ ) didn't work, despite knowing it wouldn't work. Jesse looked exactly like he was on the brink of the Final Death. How would someone like that possibly know Jack Morrison?  
  
The man could have at least let him take the dress. Now Ceci was going to yell at him and despite having the height advabtage, Ceci was a force to be reckoned with and would have prefered to not inconvenience her. He'd make it up to her, he tries to think, knowing he wouldn't have much time. He also wanted to see Chich before the night ended. The older skeleton's health had steadily declined and Jesse knew either tonight or next morning, Chich would fade. He hoped where ever Chich ends up, he finds the family that never remembered him. It's what his old friend deserved. A chance at family.  
  
Jesse shut the thought out of his mind, stood up and snatched his hat off the desk before leaving the office. He stormed past a small figure, not paying much attention as he tried to formulate a plan. He was leaving the hallway and almost out in the open station when he hear a youbg voice calling after him.  
  
"Hey. Hey! You really know Jack Morrison?" Jesse rolled his eyes, turning around.  
  
"Who wants to-" he said, turning around before meeting face to face with flesh. He holds back a scream as he rears back, a phantom feeling of a beating heart hammering his ribs. He pointed a finger, fear coursing through his bones, and exclaimed loudly: "Y-You're alive!"  
  
The child, a little girl in a purple hoodie immediately started shushing him and pushed him into a phonebooth. Jesse immediately leaned as far away from the living child as he was able to do, breathing heavily and staring wide-eyed at her. He hasn't seen a living person in almost a century.  
  
The little girl, she couldn't have been more than eleven, turned to him after securing the door.  
  
"Yeah I'm alive. And if I wanna get back to the Land of the Living, I need Morrison's blessing." she said, a little desperation in her voice. Jesse would have tried to be comforting but this situation was so weird.  
  
"That's... uh... Oddly specific." he says, feeling his panic ebb away slowly. He still felt overwhelmed by the amount information.  
  
"He's my _tatara-abuelo_ ," the little girl claimed with some pride in her voice. Jesse felt himself freeze.   
  
"He's your-your what...?" he said, subconciously feeling as if his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Oh wait they did. They were in his jaw. He quickly punched his jaw in, knocking his eyes back in their proper place. The girl is Jack's _tatara-nieta._ She's his living family. Wait... she said she needed to get back to the living.   
  
"Wait... wait wait wait..." he said, mulling over the plan. _If he did... no, no... yes_!  
  
In his planning, he hadn't noticed the kid edging away.  
  
"Uh... I'll find someone else to help..." she said, backing out of the booth. He quickly got it together. He's not blowing this chance.  
  
" _No, niña, niña, niña_ , I can help   
you! You can help me. We can help   
each other! But most importantly,   
you can help **_me_**." He said, desperately. Jesse extended his hand.  
  
"I'm Jesse," he said, only for the kid to snatch his hand and start running. See if Jesse had been a better remembered skeleton, he would have expected his arm to still have remained or at least given more resistance. Since that wasn't the case, the kid just ran off with his arm, followed by a xolo dog he hadn't noticed before. He takes off after kid, snapping to grab his attention.  
  
_< ¡Espérame chamaca!>_ Jesse yelled as he caught up with the girl. She tossed him his arm and they both took off, into the crowd.

* * *

Hanzo and the rest of his family burst through the door of the station. He frantically scanned for Olivia to no avail. He didn't see a child with a purple hoodie anywhere. Olivia could be anywhere.

Hanzo mulled over what to do. He didn't want to necessarily bother them, but it seems he didn't have any other choice.  
  
"I will need them... She's going to get herself killed..." he whispered. No other choice, he gave a piercing whistle. She could see the serpentine bodies wrapped around the top of a building. The dragons approached, eyes glowing in the night. The coiled blue bodies of his long time companions approached and he felt his mind clear and a small smile grace his face.   
  
The two dragons landed in front of Hanzo, closing their eyes as he layed a hand on the snout of each of the dragons. His smile spread and gently pet them. He opened his mind, allowing his spirits' energy to flow into his mind.  
  
Hanzo and the dragons open their eyes at the same time. Hanzo stared at them, eyes switching between the two.  
  
"Aiko, Yori, I need your help." The dragons moved their head in acknowledgement.  
  
"Zenyatta, please give them the petal Olivia touched." he said, turning to his family. Zenyatta peacefully nodded and approached the dragons with confidence. It had been too long for anyone in the family to be intimidated by neither Aiko nor Yori.  
  
Zenyatta extended the petal out, allowing Aiko and Yori to smell the petal. They both sniffed it, eyes glowing more intensely as the dragons regidtered the smell. They turned to Hanzo, waiting for his word. Hanzo nodded at them, stroking Yori's horn.  
  
"Go find our little girl."  
  
The two azure dragons shot in the sky, in search of their lost family member.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia gets a disguise and Jesse gets chewed out by Ceci.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I had to take the bus so I took the time to write this and update. After this, the story will pick up. I'm going to try to make the chapters longer to get it done faster! Hope you enjoy!

Olivia waited as Jesse talked to the man at the _bodega_ , hoodie drawn. Her family will be looking for her and she can't risk it. She needs to find Morrison and Jesse wad her only way to reach him. Dante was sniffing the skeleton's tattered clothes as he bargained with the shopkeeper. Jesse smiled down at the dog affectionately before finally breaking through to the man behind the counter. Jesse handed 150 _pesos_ to the man and then gestured for Olivia to follow him.   
  
The two walked together through back alleys until they reached a tunnel under an underpath. Olivia sat down on a lone crate as Jesse crouched down and started applying the white shoe polish to her face. The polish felt heavy and greasy on her face but she sat still, just scrunching up her nose. Bone swiftly yet expertly smeared her face but was gentle.  
  
"Alright, _chica_ , time for the details." Jesse said with a smile. He put down the white polish, wiping the white from his fingers on his trouser and pulling out the black polish. He dipped his fibgers in the black, leaving indents as yellowing bones were stained black. He turned to her about to smear the polish on her eyes before stopping   
  
_< ¡Cierra tus ojos!>_ he scolded. Olivia immediately closed her eyes, and started thinking about what she would tell her great-great grandfather. She guessed the first thing she'd ask would be about the blessing but she also wanted to know more about him. She wanted to get to know him, even if they will have limited time. Jesse's skeletal fingers were gentle as they painted her eyes.   
  
"I'll redo it but let me start with the mouth first," he said, before Olivia felt pressure on her mouth and cheeks. She could hear scuffling behind her, most likely Dante. She was glad at least she had her dog with her. He had been a source of comfort for her. She felt herself growing restless and shifted a bit, squirming.  
  
"Hey, hey! Hold still, I'm almost done. You can open your eyes." Jesse reassured. Olivia stood still, opening her eyes. She took in the whiskey eyes the skeleton had and saw him narrow them in concentration.  
  
"Look up. Look up. _A ver, a ver._.." Jesse trailed off, smearing more polish on her eyes. "Look up. Up, up..." Olivia looked at the curve of the tunnel. Jesse hummed a bit, stopping. A little more smearing and then he finished. "There, done."  
  
Jesse reached into a little pocket and pulled out an old, cracked mirror. "Dead as a doorknob!" he said with a grin. Olivia took in the makeup. It looked pretty good if she were honest. She was distracted when Jesse spoke again.  
  
"So listen, Olivia: this place runs on memories. When you're well- remembered, people put up your photo and you get to cross the bridge and visit the living on _Día de Muertos._ " he explained, before throwing the mirror behind him. "Unless you are me." Olivia nodded.  
  
"You don't get to cross over." Jesse nodded, before continuing.  
  
"No one's ever put up my picture..." Jesse said, trailing off as if thinking of something before snapping back. "But you can change that!"  
  
Jesse pulled out a piece of paper from his person and passed it to Olivia. In the photo there was a young man, around 18 or 19, with medium length hair, a strong jaw and a large smile. He looked very uncomfortable with the photo but was regardless smiling at the person who captured his likeness. Olivia looked from the photo to the skeleton in front of her, noticing the similarities between them.   
  
"This is you?" she asked, despite knowing the answer. Jesse nodded with the same grin as the man on the photo. He smirked, cocked one eyebrow bridge.  
  
_< ¿Muy guapo, ey?>_ He looked more goofy in the photo but she didn't comment. One thing she noticed though was that Hector didn't look as old as other skeletons. He looked pretty young if the hair was anything to go by. She thought to her Tío Mateo and Papa Hanzo, who had white in their age alluding to their age. She wondered what Jesse died from and how old he was.  
  
"So you get me to my great-great grandpa, then I put up your photo when I get home?" Olivia questioned. It seemed like the only reason why Jesse was bothering to help her. Jesse's excited, exaggerated nodding showed his acceptance.  
  
"Such a smart boy! Yes! Great idea, yes!" He paused, before continuing. "One hiccup: Morrison is a tough guy to get to. And I need to cross that bridge soon. Like _tonight_." he paused again, letting his statement sink in before continuing in an upbeat voice. "So, you got any other family here, you know? Someone a bit more... accessible?"  
  
Olivia thought back to her Papa Hanzo and hid terms. She can't let that happen. She needs to play music. She quickly shook her head, avoiding Jesse's pleading yet hopeful gaze.  
  
"Mmm... nope." She said, her response unconvincing to even herself.    
  
"Don't yank my chain, _chamaca_. You   
gotta have some other family." He said accusingly, pointing a finger at her. She held strong staring at him.  
  
"Only Morrison. If you can't help me  I'll find him myself." She said, getting up and beckoning for Dante to follow her. She heard a groan before Jesse stopped her.  
  
"Okay, okay, kid, fine -- fine! I'll get you to your great-great grandpa..." Jesse grumbled, before beckoning her to follow him. Olivia followed after him, Dante trailing next to Jesse as they walked. At least Dante liked him, that's good news.   
  
Olivia looked at Jesse as he walked, a clear limp marring his walk. She noticed it wss due to the bone popping out of its socket in his leg. She tried emulating the walk as they traversed the crowded path. Jesse broke the silence.  
  
"You know it's not going to be easy, right? Morrison is a very busy man." He said, looking at her briefly. He double looked at her. "What are you doing?"   
  
"I'm walking like a skeleton." Olivia said simply, continuing to saunter next to him. "Blending in."  
  
Jesse shook his head. "No, skeletons don't walk like that."  
  
Olivia looked at him. "It's how you walk." She pointed out. Jesse furrowed his brow ridge.  
  
"No it's not." He said, defensively. Olivia continued walking in the way Jesse was.  
  
"Stop it!" Jesse protested, scowling. Olivia smirked before noticing the giant billboard illuminating the night. She could hear 'Remember Me' blaring from the speakers as she read the billboard proudly proclaiming Jack Morrison's Sunrise Spectacular. Her eyes widened and a wide grin graced her face.   
  
"Whoa... 'Jack Morrison's Sunrise Spectacular!' Qué padre!" She said excitedly. Jesse grimaced next to her.  
  
"Blech. very year, your great- great grandpa puts on that dumb show to mark the end of _Día de Muertos_." Jesse rolled his eyes. Olivia turned to him.   
  
"But you can get us in!"   
  
"Ahh...." Jesse cringed. Olivia glared at him.  
  
"Hey, you said you had front row tickets!" Olivia said, folding her arms and looking up at the tall skeleton. Jesse gripped his left wrist with his right hand in a gesture that was familiar to her.   
  
"That... That was a lie. I apologize for that." Sombra gave him a withering look. Jesse waved it off.  
  
"Cool off, _chamaca_ , I'll get you to him." He said, nonplussed. Olivia looked at him, doubtingly.  
  
"And how will you do that?" She said, not believing him. How else were they going to get to Morrison?  
  
Jesse gave a broad grin. "'Cause _I_ happen to know where he is going to be rehearsing! Follow me." he said, before taking off. Olivia followed him hesitantly as Dante took after the skeleton, tail wagging.  
  
"Just remember to not bother anyone, alright? Jack won't be the only one rehearsing and you have to be respectful." Jesse cautioned once Olivia caught up. Olivia and Jesse walked for a while before Jesse abruptly stopped her. She looked at him, questioningly. He looked at her unimpressed.  
  
"Can't have you walking directly into the tram before you meet your great-great grandpa, now can I?" Olivia rolled her eyes but thanked him anyways.  
  
The two walked for a few more minutes before reaching the backside of a warehouse. Olivia looked around, confused. She turned to see Jesse taking off his arm and using his suspenders to slingshot it to the third floor window. The hand tapped the window before waving at whoever was in the room. A few seconds later, a female skeleton opened the window, and brandishing Jesse's arm.   
  
"You better have my dress, Jesse!" She threatened. Jesse smiled up at the woman.  
  
_< ¡Hola Ceci!>_ he shouted back. The woman rolled her eyes and tosses Jesse his arm. She lowers the fire escape later, allowing them to go up. Olivia followed after Jesse, greeting the woman as she crawled into the studio. Jesse walked in with a nervous smile.   
  
"Ceci!... I lost the dress." he said, cringing as the woman groaned loudly.  
  
"¡ _Ya lo sabía_! I gotta dress forty dancers by sunrise and thanks to you, I'm one Frida short of an opening number!" the woman continued ranting as Jesse made weak attempts to calm her fury.  
  
"Ceci -- I know, Ceci..." Olivia quickly lost interest, looking around the room before she noticed Dante leaving the room. She followed her dog, trying to get him to stop. She didn't want to get in trouble.  
  
She followed Dante, looking around the whole time. Until Dante found a monkey alebrije, causing them to scuffle and make a mess. Olivia cringed, looking around before running after Dante as the two animals made a mess of the studio.   
  
_< No, no, Dante! Ven acá!>_  
  
The monkey jumped on the shoulder of a woman with black hair, who turned and stared at Olivia. She looked confused before questioning her. Olivia stood stock still. That's Frida Khalo!  
  
"You! How did you get here?" Frida questions, wary. Olivia snapped out of it.  
  
"I was just following my-" she stuttered before Frida gaspes, cutting her off and hurrying close to where Dante was. She kneeled and grabbed his head gently, studying him, a soft smile gracing her features.  
  
"Oh, the mighty Xolo dog! Guider of wandering spirits!" she exclaimed, looking lovingly at Dante. Frida turned to Olivia, curious. "And whose spirit have you guided to me?"  
  
Olivia takes a slight step back as Frida studied her closely.  
  
"I don't think Dante is a spirit guide..." she says nervously. Frida waved away her protests.  
  
"The _alebrijes_ of this world can take many forms. They are as mysterious as they are   
powerful." The patterns on Frida's monkey swirl and he opens his mouth to breath a blue fire. He fumbles at the end with a chesty cough as Olivia stares in awe. The two were interrupted by Dante choking. The two turn and see as Dante choked on his leg, spit it out. The dog pauses before continuing to bite its leg.  
  
"Or maybe he's just a dog." Frida digressed. She then perked up, turning to Olivia. "Come! I need your eyes!"  
  
Olivia's eye widen as she is dragged off deeper in the studio looking back to where she last left Jesse. She thinks she can spare a few minutes to help Frida Khalo.


End file.
